NUMBER 259 DATE: 02/11/05

Sector Processing Center (SPC):

During December, NOA, CSU and JMA processed more than 99% of A data into B1/B2 data. CSU caught up on reporting for GOES-10 and GOES -12 processing for August through November..

Normal operations for December were reported by NOA, CSU and JMA. MSC began delivery of its backlog of B1/B2 data and should now be able to take over full operations from CSU for GOES-12.

CSU is still supplying the AC data for GOES-12.

Satellite Calibration Center (SCC):

AC data were received for December 04 from METEOSAT-5, METEOSAT-7, GOES-9, GOES-10, GOES-12 and NOAA-16 (AVHRR and HIRS). AC data for November 04 were also received from NOAA-16. BC data for October 04 for METEOSAT-5, METEOSAT-7, GOES-9, GOES-10 and GOES-12 were shipped to the GPC.

All AC data are now received via Internet.

All BC reports now include normalization for the visible, standard infrared and "split-window" infrared channels (except METEOSAT and GOES-12 which do not have a split-window channel), and the "water vapor" channels.

Global Processing Center (GPC):

The GPC continued to receive B2 data, BC data and correlative data in a routine manner by Internet. All data products from the GPC are delivered by ftp to NOAA/NCDC and to NASA Langley.

Deliveries of B2 data from NOAA-16 are current. Production of NOAA-16 (preliminary) B3 is complete through June 04. Final B3 data have been produced through June 04, but the BT data are now being re-processed to correct errors in the VIS and IR calibration.

Deliveries of B2 data from NOAA-17 are current. Production of NOAA-17 (preliminary) B3 is complete through June 04. Final B3 data have been produced through June 04, but the BT data are now being re-processed to correct errors in the IR calibration.

Deliveries of B2 from GOES-9 (at 155E) are current. Production of GOES-9 (preliminary) B3 is complete through December 03. Final B3 data have been produced through December 03, but the BT data are being revised.

Deliveries of B2 data from GOES-10 are current. Production of GOES-10 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through December 03. Final B3 data have been produced through December 03, but the BT data are being revised.

Deliveries of B2 data from GOES-12 are current. Production of GOES-12 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through December 03. Final B3 data have been produced through December 03, but the BT data are being revised.

Deliveries of B2 data from METEOSAT-5 (at 63E) are current. Production of METEOSAT-5 (preliminary) B3 data is complete through December 03. Final B3 data have been produced through December 03, but the BT data are being revised.

Deliveries of B2 data from METEOSAT-7 are current. Production of METEOSAT-7 (preliminary) B3 data is compete through December 03. Final B3 data have been produced through December 03, but the BT data are being revised.

A whole month radiance data from the Chinese FY-2B satellite has been obtained to test processing into B3 format.

Deliveries of TOVS correlative data are current. TOVS processing is complete through December 03. Errors in the processing of TOVS based on the new NOAA ATOVS were discovered: essentially the upper atmosphere and near-surface layer temperatures were not interpolated to the ISCCP pressure intervals correctly, introducing small, but noticeable, changes in the temperature climatology. Some of these errors occurred because the ATOVS documentation was incomplete. These errors have been corrected and re-processing of the data is underway.

Deliveries of snow/ice correlative data are current. SI processing is complete through December 03.

DX/D1/D2 data processing is complete through December 02. The problems related to the changeover from NOAA-14 to NOAA-16 have been resolved. There were five different problems: some procedural errors in handling the calibration adjustments during processing (because of the channel switching), an inconsistency between the GPC and SCC treatment of IR calibration, an overestimate of the VIS calibration correction because of some contamination by noisy data, as well as problems related to the TOVS processing errors. Once the TOVS and B3 data are re-processed (which is underway), the D-data processing will resume.

The tropical convection identification and tracking survey has been completed for the whole ISCCP time period, July 83 -- June 01. The on-line ISCCP Convection Colocator library has been updated. This software and database provides, for any specified date, time and location, the properties and lifecycle history of the nearest mesoscale convective cloud system found in the ISCCP DX dataset.

New figures have been added to the ISCCP Web site to illustrate the cloud vertical layer structure inferred from an analysis of 20 years of radiosonde humidity profiles, the composite distribution of cloud vertical distribution obtained by a statistical combination of these data with the ISCCP cloud type information, and the profiles of atmospheric radiative heating calculated based on this statistical combination. These results provide the first fully three-dimensional, global assessment of clouds and radiative heating of the atmosphere, which will be refined by the forthcoming CloudSat/Calipso missions.

Tables are available on the ISCCP Web site that provide the up-to-date version numbers for all ISCCP data products. The whole calibration dataset (Stage BT data) and the ancillary map grid dataset that accompanies the gridded data products are available on the ISCCP ftp site. The entire D2 dataset is also available on the ftp site. Browse data now available on the Web site are monthly mean data for July 83 through September 01 and climatology results based on the period July 83 through September 01. The radiance calibration tables have been updated through December 03. The ISCCP World Wide Web Home Page can be accessed at URL

ISCCP Central Archive (ICA):

The ICA at NOAA NCDC continued to receive B1 data from NOA, MSC, EUM, CSU and JMA and B3 and D data from the GPC in a routine manner. A new effort is underway to bring the documentation, formats and READ software for the B1 datasets up to the same level as for the B3 datasets. A prototype version of these data, to be called B1U, is now being examined to test their accuracy and usefulness.

The health of GOES-9, GOES-10, GOES-12, METEOSAT-5, METEOSAT-7 and NOAA-17 remained good. METEOSAT-6 and GOES-11 are in stand-by mode. Both the AVHRR and HIRS instruments on NOAA-16 are experiencing noticeable noise that degrades data quality. NOAA-N is now scheduled for launch on 19 March 05. MSG-2 launch is now scheduled for June 05 and METOP-1 launch is scheduled for April 06. JAXA announced the launch of MTSAT-1R in February 05 (and the planned launch of MTSAT-2 in 06). FY-2C commissioning continues to progress successfully; full operations are planned to begin in May 05.

Stage B3: July 83 - December 03 (20.5 years)

Stage TV: July 83 - December 03 (20.5 years)

Stage SI: July 83 - December 03 (20.5 years)

Stage D: July 83 - September 01 (18.2 years)

Satellite Network

B Level Data Products

* Delivery backlogs for B2 data (EUM = 1 month).

* Delivery backlog for B3 data = 6 months (with respect to planned schedule). B3 data for 246 months have been archived.

* Delivery backlog for DX/D1/D2 data = 33 months (with respect to planned schedule). D1/D2 data for 219 months have been archived.